


In Depth

by MoonlightSprite



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27811951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightSprite/pseuds/MoonlightSprite
Summary: Raelle finally learns a bit more about who Scylla really is after a chance meeting with a tired Anacostia and a drunk Scylla.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 54
Kudos: 265





	1. Chapter 1

War college was as brutal as Basic and then some but Raelle was actually feeling vaguely okay about her academic career currently, it was every other part of her life that were causing her difficulties. She was still reeling from the knowledge her mother was alive and Spree, when suddenly the Alliance was formed to fight the Camarilla and her mother, plus a whole selection of Spree operatives, were moving onto the base and starting to collaborate on missions. Raelle had been pointedly ignoring her since their explosive reunion, it was actually pretty easy to achieve as she couldn’t bear to look at her right now.

The other major issue she was ignoring was that her ex-girlfriend had returned to Fort Salem with the other Spree agents. There had been a huge ceremony to announce the Alliance, General Alder had introduced and welcomed the Spree onto the stage at which point only Willa Collar and Scylla walked out from the side. The remaining operatives had emerged from the crowd, setting their faces ablaze as they moved towards the stage. When they had all assembled, Scylla blending in with the other operatives and leaving Raelle’s mum and General Alder at the front, they finished their entrance with their familiar cry of “We are the Spree!”, even Abigail and Tally had to admit later that it was quite the display.

She had hardly seen Scylla in the few months that had followed, other than another explosive reunion she would rather forget. She had shouted at Scylla, accused her of knowing her mum was alive all along and called her a liar when she denied it. She had reasserted her previous declaration that she wished they had never met, even though she had been feeling guilt over it since the first time she said it, and told her to keep the hell away from her. Scylla had certainly taken that part to heart, Raelle sometimes thought she had maybe been deployed to another base or sent off on missions she saw so little of her, and would be caught off guard every time she suddenly spotted her across the grounds or ducking out of mess hall in the morning. When Raelle had not so subtly enquired about the Spree activities on base Anacostia had informed her the small number of Spree Necro’s had access to a lab and training room in the Necro facility after hours but that she hadn’t seen or spoken to Scylla often over the past few months either, other than crossing tracks after the occasional meeting they were both included in, and the contents of which were classified. She was her usual stoic self throughout but Raelle knew her well enough by now to pick up the undercurrent of concern and wondered about it often afterwards.

Tonight however she was thinking of very little of anything, having thoroughly exhausted her brain studying in the library with her unit. She never thought she would look back fondly on the beasting that was Basic training but here she was only a few months down the line longing for tired, aching muscles to replace the beginnings of a headache lurking at the edge of her skull. So she was once again completely unprepared for the, admittedly unexpected, sight of Anacostia half dragging what appeared to be an incredibly drunk Scylla across the road in front of them. They all stopped dead and watched the two staggering and spinning so much it could nearly be considered dancing, very, very uncoordinated dancing. Anacostia had one of Scylla’s arms around her shoulder and Scylla was almost hanging from her, her feet seemingly incapable of any useful movement but pretty good at catching enough ground to pivot them both and nearly make them fall. Scylla head was hanging forward, her hair entirely obscuring her face, but she did appear to be talking and the occasional nod suggested possibly hiccuping too.

Abigail was the first to recover herself and comment “What the actual hell is that?!”

Raelle replied “I have no idea” even as she started to automatically walk towards the pair, enticed by the strange sight. Behind her Abigail and Tally shared a knowing look and followed on, even Abigail had to admit she was curious about this.

Raelle really meant to just politely enquire what the fuck was going on and continue on to bed but as she covered the short distance she remembered the only time she had ever seen Scylla drink was that once at the wedding before she disappeared. She had said she didn’t drink much and had declined every other time, so to see her like this, exposing another lie to Raelle, had so many of the feelings Raelle had been ignoring welling up in her at once. Anacostia saw her coming and noticed her speeding up as she approached, she shouted a cautionary “Collar” alerting Scylla who raised her head and looked around vaguely until she spotted Raelle, when she was right in front of them.

“I thought you didn’t drink? So that was just lies too?” Were the first words out of Raelle’s mouth.

Scylla did her best to shrug while hanging from one arm and simply stated “It’s what I do” with a slur and what looked like an attempt at a flourishing arm gesture that lost the effect when Scylla let her arm and head drop halfway through.

“This is not the time Raelle” Warned Anacostia as she shuffled her grip on Scylla to better support her while standing. Abigail and Tally had approached by this point and were both standing a little back just watching the scene play out.

Raelle looked at Scylla, her head still hanging and addressed Anacostia instead “What are you doing anyway? How did she get like this?”

Anacostia adjusted her grip again, clearly starting to feel the strain, as she replied “Well this little one fell off the wagon, and then she blew it up, and now I am trying to take her back to her barracks but she is being remarkably difficult, even for her” The last part was spoken directly at Scylla who gradually raised her head throughout and was looking Anacostia in the eye as she finished.

“I don’t like it, smells funny” Scylla said while wrinkling her nose.

“But it does have your bed” Anacostia replied with the tired patience of someone who has already repeated this exact statement several times.

“I don’t need a bed” Replied Scylla, sounding impressively matter of fact for someone who couldn’t stand up on their own.

“I know you don’t, but you have one so you should try using it sometime” Anacostia said while ruffling Scylla’s hair, causing her to groan and run a hand down her face.

Raelle couldn’t help but smile at the interaction, she was trying to hold on to her anger but she had never seen Scylla like this and she couldn’t help but be intrigued.One of the questions that had plagued her most since they parted was, who was the real Scylla? And it seemed she might be able to get an insight, even if the circumstances weren’t ideal and she didn’t want one anyway.

Scylla for her part was a spinning vortex of confusion currently. She leant heavily against the warmth on one side and tried to figure out what was happening. She remembered talking to Willa and then having an extreme need for a drink, she had been drinking a lot less while she was at Fort Salem the first time, at least laterally, but had started again with the one at the wedding because she was freaking out. When the news of Raelle’s supposed death had reached the Spree she had started drinking every day again and when she heard that Raelle was alive, the relief was balanced out with the knowledge she would still hate her and she kept drinking, settling in to her new routine of constantly teetering between function and oblivion as necessary. Willa had picked her up for it more than a few times but Scylla always performed exceptionally, so Willa eventually gave up and left Scylla to her own devices when she wasn’t required for Alliance work.

Scylla had been in a bar, she remembered the warm sweet smelling air and cold blasts from the door that hit her back whenever someone came or went. Anacostia had appeared next to her at some point and ignored her requests to be left alone, as usual. She must have given her a lift back to the base, as Scylla was definitely not cold enough to have walked all the way, and Anacostia was still here, so that probably meant she had driven. So they were at base, this was good Scylla thought, she knew where she was, at least vaguely what had happened, so now she was onto what was currently happening and…..fuck Raelle is here!

Scylla was sure she must had known this already but apparently she had sobered up enough while standing to fully comprehend what it meant, that Raelle was actually there, but she was still drunk enough to have no idea how to cope with the situation. Scylla’s brain went straight to damage limitation, which to Scylla’s automatic pilot meant leave, quickly. She assessed the situation again, still hanging from the warm Anacostia to her right, people were talking around her but she had no idea what any of it meant right now and all that mattered to her was it meant they were distracted. Scylla kept her head down and incrementally shifted her weight until she released some of the tension in Anacostia’s arm. Then she took a few moments to gather herself, keeping loose and staying quiet while she tuned in more to her surroundings, when Anacostia went to adjust her grip again Scylla was ready. She slipped out of Anacostia’s grip, dodged under the other arm swinging to grab her and she was off, running full pelt and letting out a gleeful whoop as she went. It was seconds until she hit the forest and she kept going, giggling a little when she heard Anacostia shout “You little Spree shit!”


	2. Chapter 2

Running was the thing Scylla loved and hated most in the world. The feeling of momentum carrying her through the forest, ducking and weaving for as far as her legs could carry her. Dodging meant a lot of walking, carrying heavy packs (if they were lucky) and slowly, endlessly moving across the country. But as she got older she was allowed to accompany her dad on scouting missions, which was a whole different world to the young Scylla. Pack as light as you can get it, bare essentials and snacks (again, if they were lucky) and then a few days of as close to free as Scylla ever felt. Moving as fast as they could, Scylla sticking close behind her father, they stopped only every few hours, to pick the next map point and refuel as much as possible. They would cover a wide range or hone in on a set target as necessary and keep themselves hidden, using their families songs to blend in to their surroundings and move almost silently through them. This was one of the skills that kept her especially useful to the Spree, Willa had been trying to get her to share them since they first met, but Scylla simply said they were sacred to her family and knew that Willa would have to accept it. She couldn’t take them by force without making herself worse than the military she was fighting.

She hated it when you were forced to run, flailing limbs catching branches and trying not to puke, so you don’t give away your position and because you didn’t have time. How you couldn’t stop, even when you thought you had got away, you had to keep the fear fresh, to keep you going in case this time you were wrong and danger was closer behind you than you realised. And for all the times they ran, they only needed to be caught once for it all to end.

Now however it was exactly what she needed, the cold air and the crunch of the leaves beneath her feet. The forest was as close to hers as anything was and as she ran she resolved Raelle couldn’t have it. She would skulk around campus and avoid populated places as much as possible, it suited her anyway, but here was hers and if Raelle wanted to be here then she could just deal with it. Scylla came to a clearing and aimed at a large old tree on the opposite side, she pushed off the ground just before she reached it and launched herself towards the trunk. She made it a few strides before digging one foot in and lunging up grabbing a branch above and pulling herself up, standing on the branch and leaning back against the trunk. She took some deep breaths and let her heart rate settle before turning round and reaching into a nook formed by a branch that had partially split off in the past. She felt around a little and drew out a jar, giving a little chuff of triumph as she turned again and sank down, letting her legs stretch out in front of her. She popped the clasp on the jar, took a long, slow, drink of the clear liquid and let herself settle for a moment.

Raelle was probably not coming after her anyway, she wasn’t even sure she hadn’t pissed Anacostia off enough to abandon her, and if that was the case that was fine, she was used to being alone and it suited her. Even if Raelle did turn up Scylla also had a lot of practice at appearing unaffected and that is exactly what she would do. As she took another long pull and felt herself warm from the inside out, she settled back against the trunk of the tree a little more and thought she might even actually manage it.

Anacostia looked up to the sky and sighed “Well shit! There goes my last chance to get an early night” She said as she started to follow the path Scylla had taken at a much slower pace. Shouting “You coming?” over her shoulder as she went.

Raelle shot Tally and Abigail a vaguely apologetic look before jogging off to catch up with Anacostia. Tally just shrugged and started following as well stating “They might need help finding her”. Abigail brought up the rear, grumbling under her breath about shitbirds.

Raelle reached Anacostia as she left the path and started through the forest. They walked together in silence, Raelle heard the other girls catch up and fall in step behind them as they headed further out towards the edge of the base. It wasn’t much longer before her curiosity could no longer be contained. “So, what happened exactly?”

Anacostia sighed and replied “I saw her heading off base earlier, I thought I would have a quick look around for her when I was in town and surprise, surprise I found her in the shadiest bar Salem has to offer.”

“Actually, to me that is a surprise, a few actually. You knew she drank?” Raelle could feel her anger bubbling, she hated feeling like people knew something she didn’t. Like they thought she wasn’t enough to know and should be discounted, deemed unimportant, like her mum had thought when she had lied to her and left her behind. 

Raelle was saved from her spiralling thoughts by Anacostia’s reply “I was aware.” She paused, clearly thinking of how much to share “I know she drank in her first year but as far as I know she really wasn’t when you two were together”.

Raelle nodded her head, as she digested the answer, then asked “And you two are friends?”

Before Anacostia could respond a voice cut in from directly above them “We bonded when she tortured me.”

Raelle looked up with a gasp to see Scylla casually reclining on a branch just above their heads, swigging a clear liquid from what looked like a Kilner jar. Anacostia gave a chuckle and shook her head stating “You know that’s not true.”

Scylla swung round on the branch and pointed an accusing finger at Anacostia “What the mind rape meant nothing to you? I’m crushed” 

“Oh please, you know I had a soft spot since you fell out of the sky at me, who else ever managed to evade me on this base.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it, and people think I’m emotionally challenged.”

“Because you definitely are!” Anacostia smiled fondly at Scylla, who responded by sticking her tongue out at her before taking another swig from her jar. “You going to come down here and share some of that, cos I am not climbing up after you but I will blast you down if I have to.”

Scylla gave a dramatic sigh and simply slid to the side off the branch, Raelle had been watching the exchange from further back with the others but jerked forward instinctually as she saw this. Apparently her worry was entirely unnecessary, as at the last moment Scylla tightened her grip on the branch and ended up hanging from one arm, waving the jar in front of Anacostia’s face. Anacostia plucked the jar from Scylla’s hand and took a hearty swig, while Scylla let go of the branch completely and fell the final distance to the ground. Her feet planted themselves firmly and she fluidly sank down to end up sitting cross legged.

Anacostia took another swig and turned to the Bellweather unit, she snorted a little to herself at the state of Bellweather’s face, the shock having pushed her eyebrows up and her jaw down, leaving her looking comically dumbfounded. Raelle was entirely focused on Scylla, who was currently absorbed in something to do with her shoe laces. Tally however caught her eye and offered a small smile, which Anacostia returned, and an eye roll at the others. Anacostia waved the jar towards her in offering and Tally stepped forward to take it while cautiously enquiring “What is it exactly?”

“Moonshine right?” Cut in Raelle, taking the jar from Tally and giving it a sniff. Tally didn’t think Raelle really discerned anything from that but she seemed to have satisfied herself and next took a small swig, which was closely followed by a good thirty seconds of spluttering and desperately trying to drag air into herself. She ended with a small second swig and a slightly raspy “Wow, that really is something.”

Anacostia nodded her agreement, as Tally and then Abigail started coughing in succession and she accepted the jar back, taking another swig for herself, before passing it back to Scylla as she sat down next to her.

“Where did it come from?” Raelle asked, slinging herself down on the ground opposite the pair, Tally and Abigail following her lead and sitting down to form a loose circle. Raelle tried to keep her tone casual and addressed the question to both Anacostia and Scylla, but in reality she found herself desperately hungry for the knowledge. This new version of Scylla was fascinating to Raelle and she couldn’t tear her gaze away, her eyes picking out slight differences all the time. Whereas Scylla’s hands had been soft and smooth when they were together, as a behind the scenes Necros would be, Raelle noticed as Scylla took another swig from the jar, her hands looked rough and calloused, hardened and scarred. One scar across her index finger was wide, like it had reopened as it healed and stretched diagonally across the whole digit, making Raelle think it must have been nearly severed completely.

Scylla eventually answered her question, when she had taken a couple more swigs and it was clear Anacostia wasn’t going to “I made it and stashed some about the place.”

“That’s some skill to pick up, and are all Dodger’s like squirrels?” Abigail questioned 

Scylla was pretty sure Abigail was trying to be nice but her High Atlantic attitude grated at the best of times and she couldn’t help but give her a slightly suspicious glare, before answering anyway “I stayed in the woods for a while after my parents died, ran into some old guys who taught me. And only the good ones.” 

Raelle cut in again with another question, wanting to make the most of this learning opportunity “And what was that about falling from the sky earlier?”

Anacostia barked out a laugh and Scylla actually huffed, but she had that small sly smile on her face, as she replied “I may have fallen out of a tree at one point.”

“Your shit at telling stories.” Anacostia stated then turned to address the other girls “So the year before you came I was doing my usual extra checks round the grounds at night and for months I just know there’s something funny about the place” Scylla snorted beside her and Anacostia raised a challenging eyebrow at her before she continued “So after months of creeping around tying to figure out what’s going on, I’m walking through the forest in the middle of the night and out of nowhere our homicidal squirrel friend comes crashing face first to the ground in front of me!” Anacostia had been solidly giggling since about halfway through her tale and dissolved completely as she finished. Raelle and Tally were trying not to laugh but couldn’t quite stop smirking.

Abigail had no such consideration and was clutching her belly laughing hard as she repeated “Face first, falling, ha! That really is some skills” 

Scylla grumbled “I fell asleep and rolled over alright.”

“Cos you were drunk as a skunk, sleeping in a tree.” Anacostia teased good naturedly.

“Ahh, good times. Until you made me clean the latrines for a month.”

“What, I was going to give the Necro I found creeping around at night guard duty so you could continue your nefarious activities?”

“Would have been handy.” Scylla grumbled again, but she was still smiling “And I still brought you a Solstice gift, see I can be nice sometimes.”

Anacostia noticed the girls looking on in confusion and addressed them again “She turned up at my door on Solstice night with two jars of moonshine and a suspiciously aged bottle of whiskey.”

“That was a good bottle, and you can still prove nothing.” Scylla was steadily sipping form the jar as they spoke.

“Let me guess, you just happened to come across a well aged bottle of whiskey in the woods.”

“Um hum! A common feature of forest fauna is the ancient whiskey bottle.” Stated Scylla grinning and nodding.

“And that is all I want to know about that.” Anacostia stated decisivey.

“It really, really is. It got a bit ridiculous to be honest, I was way too drunk when I started.” Scylla yawned as she finished speaking bringing her whole arm round to shield her mouth, still holding the jar in her hand. As she swung it back Anacostia smoothly plucked the jar from her hand with a chuckle at the indignant “Hey!” from Scylla who then yawned again and slumped onto Anacostia in revenge.

Anacostia recovered from the sudden jolt of Scylla against her and took a final swig, still chuckling, before passing the jar on around the circle. Scylla stretched her arms and legs before deliberately working herself backwards into Anacostia’s side. Anacostia looked down at her and raised her eyebrows while saying “You comfy enough?”

“Getting there, thanks.” Replied Scylla before yawning once more and letting her eyes slip shut.

“How can you be so murderous and so adorable?” Anaostia mused quietly.

“Many skills.” Scylla was slurring more by the second, her head dropping and her breathing evening out.

Raelle caught Anacostia’s eye and nodded questioningly to Scylla, was she really going to let her fall asleep in the middle of the forest? Anacostia just shook her head gently and turned to Tally, enquiring about her recent training, while maintaining a much softer tone than their previous discussions. The conversation faded into the background as Raelle was caught up watching Scylla again. Her chin was resting on her chest, mouth hanging open slightly and her body spread out, looking completely comfortable on the ground and resting against Anacostia. After a few minutes small snoring sounds started rumbling from the sleeping Scylla and Raelle officially melted. 

She had no idea she snored, now she was thinking about it Scylla was always awake before her in the morning, even when it was Raelle that had to be up. Had she just not slept? She must have, they spent so many nights together. Raelle found herself feeling sad at the idea of Scylla up alone at night, Raelle sleeping obliviously beside her. She had been so wrapped up in her anger at what had been done to her, that she had honestly not given much thought to what Scylla had been going through. Now she found herself guilty at the idea she hadn’t been as supportive to Scylla as she could have been, although she knew she wasn’t really given a chance. It was all so messed up, the war, the military, the Spree, the Alliance and they were all just caught up in it, getting whipped about and trying to make it out again, though few ever truly managed.

Raelle snapped back to reality when Tally nudged her arm and quietly asked “You okay there?” With a kind smile.

“Yeah, yeah totally.” Replied Raelle before asking Anacostia the question that had been swirling round the back of her mind for the last few minutes, “How come you let her fall asleep?”

Anacostia just grinned and said “I often find her easier to deal with when she’s unconscious. You all ready to head back?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, 
> 
> Apologies for the late introduction but I had to get the story started or I was in danger of procrastinating literally forever. Thank you so much for the comments and Kudos, they are very much appreciated and it's really nice to know you are enjoying it. 
> 
> General housekeeping stuff, updates will be erratic at best, I am aiming for at least one a week but we will have to see how it goes. 
> 
> From the next chapter it will be way more angsty, I will update the tags when I post it. It shouldn't be too graphic and I'm pretty sure not anything worse than the show itself. 
> 
> Lastly, this is mainly to practice writing and I will be editing throughout for grammer and flow but it shouldn't make any difference to the overall story and if it does I will let you know. Also if you notice any errors, inaccuracies etc feel free to let me know, especially if it bugs you as it will probably bug me too, and I will try to get to it sooner rather than later.
> 
> Hope you enjoy chapter 3. Stay safe all.

The door to the Bellweather unit’s suite swung open silently as Tally entered and turned back to hold the door steady. Abigail appeared in the opening waving her arm in a frantic “Move it!” motion, while she mouthed what Tally was sure was a barrage of expletives. Raelle finally entered, smoothly side stepping through the doorway and straight past them, trying not to bash into anything as she manoeuvred an unconscious Scylla into the room. She placed her gently into her bed and stood, stretching her back out, while she turned to the others.

“Thanks guys,” Raelle said quietly, sheepishly smiling at the pair.

Abigail simply grunted “Whatever,” and turned away to get ready for bed. 

Tally sent an admonishing look towards her back before moving in front of Raelle, who was still standing where she had stopped. She took hold of her shoulders and waited until Raelle’s slightly vacant gaze made contact with hers before speaking quietly, but clearly “It’s okay, WE,” she said, pointedly inclining her head towards Abigail, who pointedly ignored her. “Are a Unit, we are with you, aren’t we?” She addressed her question towards Abigail, who sighed as she responded.

“Yes, we are. But this,” she said waving her hand vaguely in Scylla’s direction “Is unnecessary. She had somewhere to stay, we did not need to smuggle an unconscious Spree agent into our dorm. You have been around her for no time at all and already she is being a terrible influence on you.” Abigail softened slightly as she finished “You’ve been doing so well recently, I just don’t want you to mess up for you, and us.”

Raelle didn’t have the heart to tell Abigail almost all of her recent progress in the military was down to a burning desire to rebel against her mother, rather than an example of increased commitment. She also wasn’t going to mention that she may have spent a few hours in the middle of the night looking out their window recently.

The Spree barracks, unlike the Necro’s, was in the centre of the Fort Salem complex. General Alder had decided that it would make them easier to monitor and had used the excuse of easy access to all Fort Salem had to offer to persuade the Spree to agree. This meant that the barracks could be seen from their suite and sometimes, when she was lying awake, Raelle felt a pull to Scylla so great it created a physical ache in her chest and she would gaze out the window for a while exasperated with herself. She wondered what was her room like now, presumable the Necro flag was gone, but how much of the stuff in her dorm had even been hers? And how much was left now? Raelle didn’t think the military would store the belongings of someone they sentenced to death.

Then again maybe they did and somewhere in Fort Salem there was a room with it all. That thought sent a shiver down Raelle’s spine every time it occurred to her. The possibility of all those lives packed away and forgotten, stored in some sort of eternal limbo. So much life represented by so little, and probably not even the important parts, just a flash point collection of the time they were caught. In fairness she was sure it was one of the least terrible things the military could do, but the idea of sentencing someone to death, and then keeping part of them forever, unsettled Raelle to her core.

So yes, Raelle definitely wasn’t doing as well recently as Abigail thought. She truly couldn’t say what she was thinking when she had automatically offered to carry Scylla back, as Anacostia was about to bend down to pick her up. She was surprised herself at the offer to take her for the night, as they were moving out of the forest and back on to the base. The only thing she actually knew was she that didn’t want to let Scylla go. Anacostia had given her a stern stare and small lecture about Scylla not being capable of emotions in the morning at the best of times. Then she made Raelle promise they would both be fit and on time to the mixer for military and Spree bonding, scheduled for the next afternoon. She finished with a succinct “Alright, later ladies.” As she sauntered off towards her own room when they reached the main campus, clearly relieved to have an end to her night in sight.

Raelle had been standing, spacing out for so long Abigail was in bed, and Tally was nearly there as well, by the time she focused back on the room properly. Apparently they were still discussing the Scylla situation Abigail stage whispering across he room to Tally “I thought you were like super anti-Spree anyway, what happened to that?”

“I know right?!” Responded Tally, her slightly wispy tone making Raelle think the Moonshine may have affected Tally more than she had noticed. Tally turned to Raelle then asking “How do you like her? I mean, I always liked her but she’s killed so many people. Like so, so many. But then that was for the Spree, and now we work with them and that’s okay? So does that mean what she did was okay? And no it can’t, but then we kill people, but their bad people, so that’s okay. So because the Camarilla are really, really bad, that makes what the Spree did okay? But it wasn’t okay before. And see, I am so confused right now!”

Raelle felt on the spot suddenly as the rooms attention focused on her. She stammered and rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to think of an answer, eventually she said “Honestly, I don’t know. I know what she’s done to other people, and to me,” she shrugged as she continued “I mean she broke my heart.” Raelle let her shoulders slump, suddenly very tired, as her thoughts inevitably strayed to her mothers involvement in it all. “I just think everything is messed up right now. I have no idea what to think about most things.” Raelle answered honestly.

It was Abigail that piped up from where she lay in bed, sleeping mask firmly in place “Well I know one thing, shitbirds need sleep! Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it tomorrow. Good night!”

Raelle rolled her eyes but smiled, as she and Tally chorused “Good night.” She moved to grab a chair from by the wall and positioned it at the end of her bed. She reached forward removing Scylla’s boots and placing them on the floor in front of her chair, tying them together by their laces, as Scylla always did. Raelle noticed Scylla’s socks were thick but worn and mended in several places. She thought about taking them off as well but decided against it. Scylla didn’t look like she would be waking up anytime soon, and seemed comfy enough, so she just pulled the blankets over her and settled back into her chair. She slipped off her own boots, lining them up next to Scylla’s, and swung her feet up onto the edge of the bed. It wasn’t the comfiest position but she wanted to keep a little alert in case Scylla did need anything in the night. Raelle took several deep breaths and she let her eyes finally close.

Scylla’s consciousness returned to her suddenly and the first things she fully registered was pain and a fair amount of nausea. She stayed very still and kept her eyes closed as she started to take stock of her surroundings. She was in a bed but it didn’t smell like hers, there was a damp, stagnant undertone to the air of the Spree barracks that she couldn’t stand. She remembered meeting Anacostia last night and wherever she was definitely smelled military but there was something else that her groggy mind couldn’t quite identify. She put it down to surprise that Anacostia had put her in bed, she must have looked really rough. There was someone, she presumed Anacostia, moving around quietly so Scylla decided she should probably admit to being awake. Without moving an inch she loudly declared “Anacostia, I told you if I got anywhere near the end of that bottle you were just to kill me and dump me by the road!”

A small chuckle came from across the room and Scylla’s head shot up as she recognised it was not Anacostia, and she knew exactly who it was. Her fear was confirmed as her eyes met Raelle’s but before she could react further the movement caught up to her head and stomach and she dropped her head into her hands groaning “Oh Goddess!” 

The chuckling continued drawing closer until Scylla could feel Raelle was right next to the bed when she started speaking “Your lucky Anacostia lied cos I’m pretty sure you found the bottom of a few bottles last night,” she felt something bump her shoulder and heard Raelle say “Here, drink this.”

Syclla raised her head again, very slowly and found a glass of reddish brown liquid bring brandished before her. She took it and looked at it sceptically, asking “What is it?”

“Chippewa anti-Moonshine juice.” Raelle said, watching as Scylla shrugged and drank the whole glass down. Scylla’s eyes started watering instantly and her face started to sweat, as everything from her mouth to her stomach burned furiously. She then flopped back down onto the bed and glared at Raelle stating “I thought you weren’t going to kill me?”

Raelle just smiled and said “Give it a second to settle, it’ll help.” 

Scylla didn’t want to give anything a second, she still had no actual idea how she ended up here and wanted to get out right now but moving was not an option yet, she really had outdone herself last night. She felt vulnerable, she hated it at the best of times but especially around Raelle. She was going to kill Anacostia, she wasn’t really sure this was her fault but it made her feel better to have someone to blame and a loose plan for vengeance. She found her stomach was starting to calm and her head did feel a little lighter so she very gingerly tried lifting it again. When that went well enough, she swung herself round to sit on the edge of the bed and looked down to see her boots sitting there, laces neatly tied. She slid her feet in, pulled the knot to separate them and stood in one motion. 

Raelle had been watching her while leaning against the desk but now took a few steps forward before speaking “You don’t need to go straight away if your not feeling well, you can sleep a bit more if you want, or whatever.”

Scylla met Raelle’s eyes for a second but she wasn’t mentally prepared for this, she was glad she was still basically drunk or she’s pretty sure she would have a full breakdown right now. She swallowed heavily and kept her eyes averted as she replied, trying not to be too obvious about it and knowing she was probably failing completely. “I have to get going. Thanks for letting me crash, I guess” Scylla was steadily backing away towards the door as she spoke, still not looking at Raelle.

“It was no problem. I promised Anacostia we would both be at the mixer on upright and on time though, so, you know.” Scylla did look at Raelle then, who was looking at Scylla with such a gentle expression Scylla felt tears start to well in her eyes, and once again quickly averted her gaze. She reached the door and opened it, feeling an instant flood or both relief and regret that she had no hope of coping with, she had to leave right now. She looked back to Raelle a final time and nodded as she responded, “Noted, thanks again.” Before she shut the door and walked away, striding as purposely as she could in her current state and with no particular direction of travel except away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello all.   
> Well the unofficial update schedule went to shit already quite frankly, so we are definitely back onto erratic at best.   
> That being said I hope you enjoy chapter 4 and that your festive seasons are as good as they can be.  
> Stay safe and have fun!

Anacostia was standing near the centre of the largest hall in Fort Salem, it was part of the historic section of the Fort used only for the auspicious occasions. General Alder was clearly making a point with her choice of location hammering home her established dominance and, if the unease Anacostia could sense among the majority of the Spree agent was anything to go by, it was working. There were of course some Spree that were not succumbing to the obvious intimidation attempt and it was no surprise to Anacostia that both Scylla and Willa Collar were included in this group. Anacostia had been keeping a close eye on Willa throughout the event, she didn’t trust the woman at all. In Anacostia’s eyes anyone that would abandon their child was bad enough but the added emotional damage she had inflicted on Raelle with her attempt to reunite, and Scylla’s thinly disguised dislike of the woman, solidified her view that Willa was one to be watched. For the moment Willa seemed to be engrossed in conversation with General Alder and another Spree operative Anacostia only vaguely recognised from attending a few meetings. 

The Spree refusal to rank anyone was a constant irritation to the military, as it meant it was almost impossible to figure out who was allowed to be where, even before the face swapping. This meant Willa had ended up the main contact between the two groups, as she was at least recognisable to the military, even if she had defected and even though it was actually Scylla who had been the link between the two. So she and General Alder had been working together increasingly often over the last few months, growing closer over time as Anacostia felt herself becoming more distanced from the General with each passing day. It made Anacostia very nervous, she had seen the General stretching what was acceptable and she worried that this new Alliance would not reverse this trend of behaviour. At the same time how could she tell the ancient witch anything at all, it was one of the few long held grudges Anacostia had against General Alder, her ability to dismiss almost anything with a simple reference to her years of experience, as if longevity and wisdom were automatically equatable.

Anacostia scanned the hall again, spotting the Bellweather group over to the right. Abigail was talking to another unit leader while Tally tried to get the attention of Raelle, who Anacostia could tell from this distance was distracted, as she looked around the hall every few seconds. Anacostia slid her eyes on until she hit what she guessed Raelle was looking for, Scylla was standing with her back against the wall, close to a corner. She looked remarkably together given her state last night, and earlier in the day, although Anacostia guessed the glass of what she was sure was whiskey firmly held in her grip must be helping. She realised she had let her gaze linger too long when she saw Scylla’s head tilt to the side ever so slightly, as if she was overhearing something, before Scylla’s eyes raised and levelled a glare straight at her. Anacostia still had no idea how she did that but it freaked the hell out of her every time, she covered it by smirking and raising her glass in a mocking toast. She chuckled when Scylla rolled her eyes and started to move fluidly across the hall, disappearing behind the groups of people scattered throughout it. Anacostia wondered what she had done to warrant Scylla’s full disappearing act before the Bellweather unit appeared just where Scylla had been standing, Raelle straining her head and actually standing on her tip toes to try and locate the girl. Anacostia was hit with sadness as she realised apparently nothing she had said to Scylla earlier had got through to her.

Scylla was having a fairly awful day, it wasn’t actually that awful in the scheme of things but Scylla was exhausted and was finding it particularly difficult to balance herself. After she had left Raelle’s dorm that morning she had walked straight into the forest on auto pilot and only stopped to vomit. She felt herself starting to shake and moved on to another of her stash places, this one loosely buried under a bush, grabbing out the jar before sinking down to the ground, popping it open and taking a long drink, rinsing the foul taste from her mouth with it’s welcome bitterness. Scylla stretched her legs out in front of her and lay back, looking up through the leaves to the clouds in the sky above. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed just staring as her mind raced through her patchwork of memories from the day before. She vaguely remembered being in the forest with Anacostia and the Bellweather unit, but had absolutely no idea why or how she ended up in their dorm. Scylla sighed as she realised she wasn’t going to figure it out herself and would be forced to seek out Anacostia. She would rather just ignore and avoid everything and everyone but Scylla never got what she wanted, so she took another couple of gulps, heaved herself up and started back towards the campus.

Scylla walked straight into Anacostia’s office without knocking and, despite her rude entrance, she was relieved to see she was by herself and made her way across the room before collapsing heavily into the seat opposite Anacostia at her desk, levelling a glare at the other girl. Anacostia held her gaze and raised her eyebrows in question. Scylla kept glaring for a few moments before she finally declared in a firm, but clearly controlled voice, “What the fuck was that about?”

Anacostia raised her eyebrows and enquired in return “What exactly would it be you are referring to?” She kept her tone light and tried not to let her amusement show too much. Anacostia knew Scylla was struggling, she could see the exhaustion that was ever present in her young friend and she was worried where she was heading.

“You know what! I woke up in Raelle’s room, how the hell do you think that is okay?” Scylla kept her volume low, practically hissing at Anacostia across the desk.

Anacostia shrugged and stated “She offered to carry you when you’d passed out, and then offered to take you to her dorm.” Anacostia paused and regarded Scylla before deciding to continue “She seemed worried about you.” 

“You should have said no.” Scylla responded, “Why didn’t you just wake me up or something?”

“You needed the rest.” Anacostia stated and shrugged again before asking “Is it really that bed that she wanted to take care of you?” It infuriated Scylla, how could she be so matter a fact about something that was ripping Scylla apart emotionally, not that she would ever admit it. 

“Yes!” Scylla exclaimed before she stopped herself and continued in a more measured tone “It’s pointless, she made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with me and it's for the best.”

“She was angry when she said that, you know what she was going through, and who is it best for exactly?” Anacostia wanted to keep Scylla talking, this was the most she had got out of her for months and she didn’t want to waste the opportunity. 

“Her.”

Anacostia sighed at the brief answer but pushed on “And what about what’s best for you?”

“It’s irrelevant.” 

“You are not irrelevant?! How can you think that?” Anacostia was trying to keep calm but to see her friend clearly value herself so little was upsetting, she wanted to shake her and hug her, anything to make her see how much she mattered.

“Because it’s true! It doesn’t matter what I want, between the Spree and the military I have a life expectancy of fuck all and even if Raelle did think she wanted me, she fucking shouldn’t!” Scylla was shaking again and gripped her hands together to combat it.

“Doesn’t Raelle get to decide for herself?” Anacostia was back to being gentle and Scylla suddenly had a vision of reaching across the desk and slamming Anacostia’s head into it again and again. So she took a deep breath and reached out to steal her cup of coffee instead, giving herself a mental pat on the back for progress. Anacostia to her credit didn’t bother to even address it and just waited while Scylla took several sips before she continued gently, “Scylla, what’s going on with you? You’ve been here for months and I’ve seen you less than when we were meeting covertly, it’s impressive in a worrying way.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.” Was Scylla’s automatic response.

“Some one needs to and you don’t get to tell me what to feel. What’s going on?” Anacostia leaned closer and tried to catch Scylla’s eyes but she was apparently engrossed by the tree outside the window.

“It’s classified.” Said Scylla, finally looking back to Anacostia.

“Seriously?” Anacostia asked incredulously “Classified, from you?”

“Yes, seriously. You’re the one always telling me not to piss off Alder.” Scylla was getting agitated again and her headache was trying to return, she needed another drink.

“But you never listen! And since when are you at a higher clearance than me?” This made absolutely no sense to Anacostia, while the Spree didn’t have a set hierarchy there were still clearly levels and as far as Anacostia knew Scylla hadn’t been that high up.

“Guess I got a promotion or something, lucky me!” Scylla’s faux excitement combined with the hollow look in her eyes disturbed Anacostia but before she could address it, or the fact that Scylla would surely have been informed of a promotion, Scylla continued quietly “I think out of all the things I’ve done, reuniting General Alder and Willa Collar might be the worst.” Scylla then stood and walked out of Anacostia’s office, leaving her too stunned to even call out after the girl.

Scylla generally avoided crowds, she still wasn’t used to being around lots of people, and didn’t think she ever would be at this stage, but it was mandatory for the Spree to attend and Willa had made sure to remind her every time she had seen her for the last few days. So here she was dressed in what counted as her smartest outfit, in that it was all black and mended well enough it wasn’t obvious at first glance. She had never owned very much and definitely nothing fancy, her only, sort of, treasured item of clothing was a leather biker jacket that she had stolen from a guy. It was warm and hard wearing, perfect for her lifestyle and she had missed it during her military time, as Willa had said it gave her the wrong image and she was forced to leave it at the safe house.

Scylla couldn't shift the tension throughout her body, the noise and energy in the room were disorientating her and she knew she was dancing across too many edges right now, basically waiting for her own inevitable slip. She was trying to keep an eye on the Spree agents that were at risk of starting something and spy on whatever Willa and General Alder were discussing all while avoiding basically anyone who knew her, which amounted to the Bellweather Unit and Anacostia. She was also performing the delicate task of consuming the correct amount of alcohol to stop her slipping straight back into a monumental hangover, without ending up drunker than she could afford to be right now. Scylla moved smoothly around the room occasionally stopping to talk to any Spree agents she knew or that looked particularly twitchy. There weren’t many people in the Spree that Scylla knew well, and even less that she liked, but that was the way of the world for her. She was used to always being on the edge of groups, personable enough to be included but never really making an effort to get to know anyone closely and certainly never sharing any important information about herself, through necessity or habit. 

Scylla spotted the Bellweather unit off to her right, once again heading her way. She hadn’t been certain they were looking for her at first but after the third time dodging the group only to find them heading her way again moments later she was convinced it wasn’t just her paranoia, plus Raelle was definitely not subtle as she craned her head looking around when they reached the area Scylla had just vacated. Scylla kept her eye on them as she moved further around the room, she was just approaching the area across from where Anacostia had stationed herself and Scylla suddenly realised she had already slipped. She turned to her left and was greeted by the most unwelcome sight of General Alder and her flock of Biddys directly in front of her. General Alder sent a sickly sweet smile her way as she spoke “Well hello Scylla, I have been hoping we would have a chance to chat.”


	5. Chapter 5

Scylla tried to school her features quickly but the sparkle in the General’s eyes told her she hadn’t been quick enough to disguise her discomfort and Scylla hated that General Alder felt she had any advantage over her. She drew herself up to her full height, still significantly shorter than the General but it helped her focus and she slipped into her usual aloofness with relative ease, after her shock subsided.

“Of course, it’s always a pleasure to see you, Sarah.” Scylla stated with a nod of deference, she allowed herself a small smile when she sensed the Biddies tensing and fluttering behind the General in a response the General herself didn’t show. Scylla took a deliberately long sip of her whiskey and let her gaze drift, as if in disinterest to her company, around the hall. As she scanned over Anacostia and Raelle she wished she hadn’t, Raelle was being subtly but firmly restrained by both her team mates while Anacostia’s expression of horror reminded Scylla exactly how precarious a position she was currently in. Luckily Scylla’s pull for self preservation had taken a decided dip recently and her hatred of the General, plus the warmth of alcohol, made her prideful in front of her.

“It’s a shame your time here didn’t teach you a few more manners.” Said General Alder, adopting an almost motherly tone that made Scylla tighten her jaw.

“No, mainly what it feels like to chew glass.” Scylla fired back, with a large an insincere smile which General Alder returned while replying.

“Well at least we taught you something I suppose,” General Alder replied dryly before switching gears again and softening as Scylla watched, “It really is a shame you couldn’t continue your studies, your tutors were very impressed with you, maybe the best in your year even, you could have accomplished a lot here.” The compliments made Scylla’s skin crawl and her mouth sour, she definitely preferred the General stoic, this faux maternity was truly sickening and Scylla nearly informed her of this, but she started talking again before she could. “I understand from Willa that you have certain advantages in some areas. We don’t have a history of your family but I would be very interested to hear about it sometime soon” Scylla felt the Biddies pressing in around her and took a small step back before she could stop herself. Willa had sold her out to Alder, no one in the military was supposed to be aware of Scylla’s extra talents, it was part of the deal, a specific part they had discussed before Scylla even mentioned the possibility of forming the Alliance. Scylla shouldn’t really be surprised, she already knew she didn’t trust Willa, but she had thought she would keep quiet to maintain the Spree advantage, the fact she hadn’t suggested Scylla didn’t know as much about her plans as she thought, or that they had changed recently and drastically. Either way Scylla needed to find out what was going on, she couldn’t afford any more disadvantages when her position was already so perilous. 

Scylla took another sip of her drink before bluntly responding “Well that won’t be happening.”

General Alder and the Biddies closed in again incrementally and Scylla took a deep breath to combat the squeeze in her chest. The General regarded her silently for a moment, clearly not used to being refused, before she leant in closer and spoke directly to Scylla in a low tone “We are all friends here now Scylla, and friends share. Your skills could give us all a great advantage against the Camarilla, you’d be helping all witch kind, isn’t that what you claim to want?”

“What I want is for witches to be free. And we’re not friends, we’re allies, for now and now only.” Scylla could feel her tension growing again at General Alder’s pompousness.

“So you would risk us all? Is that what your family taught you? To abandon your own kind when they need your help?” Scylla realised the General knew exactly what she was doing, steering the conversation towards her family, she was clearly trying to get a rise and Scylla wasn’t sure she could resist the bait right now. Her ever present anger was quickly going from a simmer to a boil and was threatening to spill over. Alder couldn’t talk about her family, her family who she had murdered, and try to use them to leverage Scylla. It enraged Scylla and she was losing her composure quickly, not helped by the widening smile on Alder’s face as she watched.

“You killed my family, you don’t get to wonder anything about them and you don’t get to know anything about them.” Scylla managed to grit out.

“Again, a shame. I guess we’ll just never see eye to eye.” General Alder sighed.

“Oh, we will,” Scylla responded and the General inclined her head in interest, but with a suspicious smile. With a bright, false smile of her own Scylla stated in the most innocent tone she could muster “When I rip your fucking throat out.”

General Alder looked almost gleeful and Scylla had a horrible feeling she was missing something important, as the General continued on conversationally “I do know a little about your family actually. Pacifists weren’t they, peaceful people generationally I understand. Tell me, how does that fit in with your Spree activities? I don’t suppose your parents would be proud of such things, although I suppose that doesn’t matter now, does it?” 

Scylla felt the room twist around her, the Biddies were murmuring to each other and it burrowed into her brain. She felt a flood of adrenalin with her rage and it was all too much, all of a sudden she thought “Fuck it!” and moved.

The sound of Scylla’s glass smashing as she slammed it onto a nearby table rang out through the room and it fell deathly silent. Scylla was still moving towards Alder but before she could even finish inhaling Willa Collar appeared in front of her and blocked her path. 

Willa spoke in a low but commanding tone “Go.” Scylla didn’t move and didn’t shift her gaze from where it clashed with General Alder’s over Willa’s shoulder. She looked positively smug and it only served to make Scylla want to murder her more. When it was clear she was being ignored Willa moved forward and grabbed Scylla’s arm, this caught Scylla’s attention and she shifted, wrenching her arm from Willa’s grasp and stepping back while levelling her glare towards her. Willa held firm and made sure there was an obvious threat laced into her command, “Now.”

It was at this point Scylla became properly aware of her surroundings again and realised the entire room was unabashedly watching them and her hand was bleeding quite badly. Scylla realised she, once again, had no real options and turned away. The crowd parted as she stalked out, shaking bits of glass and blood out of her hand as she went, crossing the foyer quickly and pushing her way through the door with more force than was necessary. She went down the front steps two at a time and broke into a run as soon as she hit the tarmac at the bottom, disappearing into the forest moments later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I did say erratic updates...

Anacostia had not felt so helpless in a long time, when Scylla went for General Alder she had jerked forward, knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do and instantly regretting not intervening earlier. She had known Scylla was on edge, and that her and the General talking was unlikely to end well, but she was shocked at how quickly it had escalated. Scylla had managed nearly two years of relatively good behaviour on the base, so to see her lose control seemingly easily, struck Anacostia as strange, until she looked back to General Alder. She knew the General, others would see her face and think her concerned as she and Willa drew together again, but Anacostia could see the ripples of excitement through the Biddies and the satisfied stance of the general. She had done this deliberately, Anacostia knew of General Alders dislike of Scylla, how her insolence grated her but the idea the General was just acting on a personal grudge just didn’t sit right with Anacostia. She sighed and turned away moving towards the door until she saw Abigail heading straight towards her.

Raelle had broken free from Abigail and Tally when Scylla moved towards the General Alder but was unable to force her way through the crowd as they all stood rapt. As Scylla was leaving the people towards the exit started to split apart, pushing back against her, and all she could do was jostle to keep herself in place until the guests started to disperse into small groups, all chattering excitedly, Spree and military alike. By the time Raelle made it out in front of the building there was no sign of Scylla, she cursed under her breath and actually stomped her foot in frustration before a hand on her shoulder startled her. Tally passed by her, squeezing Raelle’s shoulder as she went and looking back over her shoulder as she kept walking.

“She went this way.” Tally stated, as she slowed to wait for Raelle to catch up.

“What about the party?” Raelle asked, as they walked towards the forest once again.

“Abigail said she’d tell Anacostia where we went and cover for us, and that apparently forests can fuck themselves.” Said Tally grinning. Raelle couldn’t help but chuckle as she pictured Abigail saying exactly that. They were in the forest proper now and heading out towards the fort’s boundary. They walked in silence for a while but Raelle could feel Tally glancing at her worriedly. Eventually she asked “How are you doing?”

Raelle scoffed at the question “I have no idea right now. What even was that? I mean, she was actually going to attack Alder, right there.”

“Yeah.” Tally responded vaguely “I wonder what Alder said to her? Scylla seemed really upset, homicidal, but upset”

“We just need to find her I guess.” The longer they were walking the more Raelle was starting to doubt herself. What would she even do once she found her? They weren’t even really on speaking terms, but Raelle just had to make sure she was okay. The thought of Scylla alone out in the forest restored her resolve and she quickened her pace, which Tally easily matched.

When they reached the boundary they stopped and looked up at the high fence, wrapped with razor wire that managed to look menacing, even in the darkness. They walked back and forth along the fence a little way, looking for any obvious signs it had been scaled and hoping for a gap in the wire somewhere if it had. There were no obvious signs anywhere and they eventually ended up back where they started.

“Are you sure she went this way?” Asked Raelle.

“Yes, she definitely did, just give me a minute.” Replied Tally. She breathed deeply while slowly while looking around, she seemed to focus less and less until she nodded towards a section of the fence to their left “There, there’s something there.” 

Tally was already walking back along the fence and Raelle jogged a little to catch up. Tally walked right up to the fence and let out a gasp when her right foot dropped into the ground unexpectedly. 

“Are you okay?” Raelle asked as she offered Tally her hand. Tally stood back up fully and rotated her ankle a few times.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She said while looking curiously at the ground, which was in fact mainly a pile of leaves. Satisfied Tally wasn’t injured Raelle crouched down and started digging through the pile of leaves until she revealed a shallow scoop under the fence.

“They way over is under.” Raelle whispered ruefully.

“What?” Tally asked from over her shoulder.

“Nothing, let’s keep going. Can you tell if she’s far?” Raelle asked, as she twisted herself to pass under the fence on her back.

“I can’t really tell but I don’t think it’s much further...maybe.” Tally followed Raelle and accepted her offered hand on the other side. They brushed themselves off and Tally paused before walking on, again they fell silent as they both moved purposely through the forest. Tally didn’t want to worry Raelle even more but she had seen Scylla’s eyes as she was walking out and although she didn’t know what was going on, she definitely didn’t think Scylla was okay. She was considering accompanying Raelle when they found Scylla but knew neither girl would appreciate it and however unstable Scylla seemed Tally was almost certain she wouldn’t actually hurt Raelle, physically at least. As they walked Tally spotted something up ahead, not really seeing anything at all but sure Scylla was there. Tally stopped in her tracks, just listening and looking. Raelle stopped too and looked at Tally, as she waited without interrupting.

“She’s up ahead, just between those two trees.” Tally pointed straight ahead and Raelle looked to where she directed and saw nothing.

“Seriously, I can’t see anything.” Raelle said, as she concentrated as fully as she could on the area Tally had indicted towards.

“Yes, I’m sure. I can’t see anything either but I’m sure she’s there. Did you know she could do that?” Tally turned towards Raelle, a slightly suspicious look on her face.

“What, the disappearing stuff? No, not at all.” Raelle looked down as she continued “I guess I really don’t know that much about her.” Raelle had a fleeting thought that her mother probably knew more about Scylla than she did but she pushed it aside and focused back in the present. Tally smiled at her and raised her eyebrows as she glanced pointedly ahead again.

“Well, now maybe you can find out more.” She gave Raelle a gentle shove with her shoulder and turned back the way they had come. “Good luck, and be careful okay?”

“I will, thanks Tally, and tell Abigail thanks too.” Raelle watched Tally walk off before turning back towards the trees and striding towards them, suddenly unable to stand another second of not knowing how Scylla was.

Raelle reached the trees Tally had indicated and stopped just before them. There was nothing but forest in front of her, the trees formed a vague clearing with a small bank built up by roots on one side but definitely no Scylla. Raelle was sceptical but trusted Tally and walked forward again, between the trees. As soon as she passed them she felt a warmth flow through her and before her eyes the forest transformed. She was standing in front of a small fire, burning brightly and casting shadows off the surrounding trees. On the opposite side of the fire the bank she had seen before had been dug out underneath, there was some sort of tarpaulin crumbled up to one side and a metal chest had been partially pulled out of the gap. Raelle’s eyes scanned on to the right and landed on Scylla. When Raelle finally saw her she was facing away and Raelle could hear her muttering, though she couldn’t make out what she was saying. Raelle felt everything in her relax seeing Scylla standing there but her concern quickly returned as she fully registered what she was looking at. 

Scylla had discarded her shirt and was left in a black vest, exposing her back and shoulders, which Raelle had seen many times before and remembered very clearly, and if she was honest, very fondly. However where before had been smooth, soft skin, now Scylla’s left arm, from the elbow up, was marred and pocked with scars, extending up across her shoulder to just below the collar line on her neck. On the back of the shoulder there were deeper scars in straight lines disappearing under her vest but Raelle had a horrible feeling she knew where they met beneath it, she was looking at the top of a W burned into her back. Raelle couldn’t contain her gasp at this realisation and Scylla immediately spun towards her.


	7. Chapter 7

Scylla couldn’t process seeing Raelle standing across the fire from her, it should be impossible for her to be there at all. The strongest of witches could detect her family's songs but only family members, and even then only the closest immediate family, could enter uninvited. And yet there stood Raelle, being amazing and oblivious all at the same time, completely unaware of what she just did, and what it meant for Scylla. She realised instantly that all of her efforts for months were worth nothing, Raelle just calmly strolled through all of her defences and once again this evening Scylla was exposed to one of her most hurtful truths, no matter what she thought she still loved Raelle. 

“No!” Scylla spoke before she even really thought about it, shaking her head and taking a step towards Raelle. “No, no, fuck no! You have to go.” 

“Scylla, please. Just talk to me for a minute...” Raelle asked, her face crinkling as she squinted against the smoke and firelight. She watched Scylla as she moved around across the fire from her and noticed her skin was now smoothed again. Raelle thought she should find it comforting not to see the scars but knowing what was hidden behind the illusion, she was sad that Scylla hid it from her, and that it was apparently second nature to Scylla to activate it. She knew glamours didn’t take a lot of power or concentration but to constantly maintain such a large one, and for such long periods, would still be a noticeable burden over time. 

Scylla grabbed her shirt from where it lay crumpled on the ground and gave it a cursory shake, before slipping it over her shoulders and starting to button it. She kept Raelle just in the corner of her vision, watching as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. She looked uncomfortable but not like she had any intention of leaving and Scylla steeled herself for what she knew she had to do next. She couldn’t be near Raelle right now, she was barely in control of herself but she needed the anger in her to keep burning, because the alternative was an absolute emptiness, and it was cold and dark, Scylla hated the dark. But Raelle soothed Scylla, even as she created turmoil within her, and Scylla couldn’t afford that right now, so she took a deep breath, hardened herself, and turned to face Raelle again.

“You told me to stay away and I did. Why the fuck are you following me?” Scylla moved slowly towards Raelle around the fire while she spoke, keeping eye contact all the way. Raelle definitely looked intimidated but stood her ground as she spluttered.

“I was worried about you. That thing with Alder looked pretty intense.” Raelle tried to keep her nerve as Scylla approached but could feel her muscles tensing up, against her will, as she grew closer. Raelle had never been scared of Scylla, even after she knew what she had done, but now she was alone in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night, she was beginning to realise that maybe she should have been. Scylla’s eyes flickered in the firelight, despite the shadows under her heavy brow, as she came to a stop a few feet in front of Raelle, still glaring directly at her.

“I’m fucking fabulous, thanks. Leave.” Scylla moved forward when she said the last word but felt no satisfaction from noticing Raelle flinch in response. Raelle recovered quickly and Scylla saw the determination spark in her, always so wonderfully stubborn, she thought before she could stop herself. 

“Your hand says your lying.” Raelle said, pointing vaguely to the bloody mess Scylla was still clenching beside her. Scylla felt a stab of pain, as she was reminded of her injury, but just increased her glare. Raelle continued, reaching out towards Scylla slowly. “I could fix it for you.”

“There’s no need, I can sort it out.” Scylla snapped back, as she held her hand away.

“But you haven’t.” Raelle pointed out with a small shrug. Moving forward again slowly “Will you really?”

“It’s none of your business what I do or don’t do. Go away!” Scylla tried to hold her ground but Raelle was getting to too close for her to handle, so she decided on a tactical retreat. Raelle watched her stalk away again, to the other side of the fire, where she grabbed another one of her jars. Raelle stayed where she was while Scylla took several long pulls from the jar, before lowering it for a few breaths and then repeating the process. Raelle waited on as patiently as she could manage, she was not good at patience on her best days and seeing Scylla like this was stressing her out. 

The Scylla she knew had been measured, balanced, always thinking things through and encouraging Raelle to act rationally. The girl now pacing back and forth across the fire from her seemed more like one of the tornados she was watching on the day they met, Raelle had to admit to herself that Scylla wasn’t any less fascinating to her for it, even if she could obviously, easily destroy her. Raelle watched the muscles in her neck tensing and releasing, pulling her jaw as she grit her teeth, she could see Scylla was struggling but she was at a loss for how to help her, and so she stayed still.

Scylla needed this to end quickly, the energy it was taking to push Raelle away was draining her and she had been running on fumes for months now, maybe years. As she was pacing she tried to get a hold of herself, but her mind kept slipping, churning through Alder, her parents, back to Raelle and everything else in her miserable life. Her anger was spiralling again and as much as she tried to gather and focus it, she was feeling less and less in control by the second, it was too much, it was always far too much. Scylla snapped, burying her face in her hands as she gripped her hair hard and let out a noise of sheer frustration, somewhere between a shout and a growl, before suddenly straightening up and lashing out with her already injured fist. 

Raelle watched in horror and flinched at the sickening crack, which seemed to bounce back and forth between the trees for a few moments before it dissipated into the air. Scylla however just gave a small hiss and pulled her fist back again, ready for a second strike. Raelle sprung into action, moving swiftly round the fire and shouting “Scylla stop, shit!” 

Scylla paused her strike and moved back, when Raelle reached out towards her, putting her uninjured arm out in front of her in a clear signal to stay back, as if her vehement “Don’t fucking touch me!” wasn’t enough.

Raelle stopped immediately and held up her hands again “Okay, okay, cool. Just stop, I’ll stay back. I promise.” Raelle was much closer to Scylla again and, without the shadow of the fire behind Scylla, she could see more clearly the state she was in. Scylla had pulled her broken hand, and it was definitely broken, around her waist. As her shoulders slumped, her torso curled round it, in a protective manner and seemingly unconsciously. Her face was no longer screwed tight in rage, although there was still obvious tension in her locked jaw, she had a slight sheen of sweat across her brow and her face was noticeably pale. Where moments before her eyes had burned into Raelle, now they were slightly unfocused and she just looked like she might cry at any moment. 

Raelle waited, scared to move in case it sparked Scylla into action and she tried to send Raelle away again. Raelle had already decided there was no way she was leaving Scylla here, but she still wasn’t sure exactly how far Scylla would go to remove Raelle, or herself, from the situation. Scylla however just kept standing there, her eyes had strayed to the fire and she was now staring into the flames, shaking and swaying slightly where she stood. 

Raelle decided to take advantage of the relative calm and called out gently “Hey! Scylla, hey.” Raelle tried to catch Scylla’s eye, but she kept them trained on the fire and showed no sign she had heard Raelle at all. Raelle didn’t want to risk approaching and startling her, so she kept speaking but moved over to the partially exposed chest, to investigate it’s contents. “You should sit down. Have you got a first aid kit in here? You seriously need to at least get your hand cleaned up.” Raelle didn’t really expect a response to her questions, but smiled to herself when she heard Scylla sinking to the ground behind her. She found a small, well stocked, first aid kit in the chest along with a pretty impressive equipment selection and a few items of clothing, including a well worn leather biker jacket, which she pulled out along with the first aid kit. 

When she turned back Scylla was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, her injured hand cradled in her lap and her other holding her jar, raising it to her lips in what looked like an automatic motion. Raelle approached slowly and Scylla finally turned to watch her as she sank to her knees next to her. “Your cold.” Raelle stated, as she held the jacket up in front of her before leaning forward and draping it over Scylla’s shoulders, keeping all her movements slow and smooth. Raelle was surprised at how subdued Scylla was being now, it was a total flip from her behaviour moments before and another side of Scylla that Raelle had never seen. She gestured to Scylla’s hand, still safely tucked away in her lap “Can I have a look at that, I’m not too bad with a first aid kit. I won’t fix it if you don’t want me to, but you need to do something.”

Scylla couldn’t answer, she was frozen in place while the world moved and blurred around her, a constant rushing sound in her ears that muted the sounds and created an added pressure in her head. She swallowed several times, trying to steel herself to speak but it was no use, she was certain she would burst into tears if she tried, and she could not deal with that right now. She attempted to sort through her pitifully few options but the pain from her hand, and the moonshine working it’s way through her system, were making it difficult, while her exhaustion encouraged her to just give up. Raelle was still just sitting there watching her, she had finished pulling what she needed from the first aid kit and had even pulled on some gloves. Finally Scylla sighed, gingerly pulling her hand out of her lap and extending it towards Raelle, who was already scooting closer to take it. Scylla let her head drop forward onto her knees and decided to just do her best to ignore everything that was happening, she could wait it out, she had practice at that too.

Raelle felt a peace fall over her as she quietly worked away on Scylla’s hand, removing the glass and cleaning the gashes they left behind. The fire crackling away beside them became comforting and she let the warmth sink into her, as she diligently carried out her self assigned task. Scylla didn’t move at all, not a twitch, even when the antiseptic seeped into her wounds. Raelle listened for a telling hitch of breath at least, but there was nothing, just the regular woosh of her breath into her knees, suggesting she was breathing through her mouth. Raelle moved onto bandaging, doing her best to immobilise the fingers, as she had a feeling Scylla would not do much herself to aid the healing process. 

When she finished, she stayed holding Scylla’s hand in her lap as she called out to her again softly “Scylla? Hey, Scylla?” Scylla lifted her head slowly, like it took a great amount of effort, or she was awaking from a deep sleep, and looked towards Raelle blankly. Raelle was disturbed by the vacant stare, but did her best not to show it as she smiled and nodded towards Scylla’s hand “All done.” She watched as Scylla’s gaze dropped to her hand before she slowly drew it towards herself and back into her lap. There was an indistinct mumble that sounded vaguely positive, and Raelle decided to presume it was a “Thank you”. Scylla started staring into the fire again as Raelle packed up her supplies and went to replace the first aid kit exactly where she had found it in the trunk. She glanced over the contents and pulled out a thick but well worn blanket, a hooded top in a similar state to the blanket and a couple of some sort of snack bar. 

Scylla hadn’t moved when she retuned to sit next to her and Raelle was starting to get alarmed, she waved a snack bar at Scylla until she eventually turned her blank stare towards her again and slowly shook her head. Raelle shrugged in response opening the wrapper while keeping a wary eye on Scylla, who was vaguely looking around, seeming disorientated. Raelle decided to see if she could use this to her advantage, for Scylla’s benefit of course. She called out to her once more, keeping her voice as soothing as possible, maintaining the soft atmosphere now surrounding their small camp. “Scylla?” Once again there was no immediate response from Scylla, but when Raelle repeated the call Scylla met her eyes again. She looked so tired, and so lost, Raelle had to fight to keep her face neutral, in case her concern was mistaken for pity, she wasn’t even sure if Scylla was actually registering anything properly at this stage anyway. She held up the blanket, as she had the jacket already on Scylla’s shoulders, leaning close and wrapping it around her shoulders and upper body. The urge to comfort Scylla was almost unbearable but she managed to contain herself and she gently suggested “You should get some sleep. Just lie down, I’ll watch the fire.” 

Apparently Scylla’s subconscious was way more trusting of Raelle than her fully wakened self, or maybe she was just so out of it she didn’t even realise who was speaking, as Scylla nodded almost imperceptibly and sank to the ground, pulling the blanket up with her good hand, so it kept her face off the ground. Raelle waited again, observing Scylla’s muscles relaxing off and her breath evening out, afraid to move an inch in case she startled Scylla awake again. Raelle had spent months missing Scylla, and now she had no desire to drag her eyes away from her, so when gentle snores joined even breaths, Raelle kept waiting some more. 

Eventually she felt safe to move a little and settle in for the night, she pulled her dress jacket off and the hoody, she had grabbed from the chest, on then leant back against the nearest tree, letting her back ease out. She noticed Scylla’s jar nearby and stretched herself over to grab it, before helping herself to a few measured sips, she had learnt her lesson on that one and approached it with a suitable level of caution this time. She tipped her head back and looked up at the stars through the firelight on the trees, letting the gentle, warm breeze from the fire flood over her and actually relax her properly, as the Moonshine warmed her from the inside out as well. Raelle was tempted to spend the rest of the night sifting through everything that had happened, but she was also exhausted and emotionally wrung out. She realised that at this moment she was satisfied, well, as satisfied as she could be in a bad situation anyway. Despite the events of the evening, and the confusion and uncertainty constantly surrounding all of them, Raelle knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Scylla came to slowly, pulling herself out of a swamp of sleep in, what felt like, a physical way. She had no idea where, or when, she was and for a fleeting moment, as she felt a crisp morning breeze on her face and the sound of someone pottering at a fire registered, she thought everything might be okay, that she was just with her parents. Then there was a clattering sound, followed by a quiet curse Scylla instantly realised was Raelle, and the confusion cleared. The illusion evaporated and she was left with a pain in her chest that rivalled her hand, which was also choosing this moment to remind her she was not okay. She sighed and opened her eyes, looking up at the sky and taking a moment before she attempted to properly move, and alerted Raelle she was awake.

The sky was a deep pink and the air held the cold moisture that was always present just before dawn. She sat up and gave a small wave in Raelle’s direction, not willing to attempt speech just yet. Raelle however immediately started talking as she came towards Scylla, holding a cup out to her in offering. “Morning. I made coffee, you want some?” Scylla nodded as she reached out, remembering to use the wrong, but functional hand, to take the mug. She cradled the cup before taking a few sips, very deliberately refusing to register it was almost perfectly made. Scylla spent several periods of her life, almost literally, living off coffee and as such drank it however it came, but in very specific and varied ways if the situation allowed. Raelle had been baffled early in their relationship, unable to comprehend how someone could drink coffee with six sugars and nearly half milk at all, let alone then switch to Raelle’s preferred, unadulterated black brew on her next cup.

Scylla was beginning to feel awkward and realised she couldn’t stay quiet much longer, so she cleared her throat and tried not to panic as Raelle’s head spun towards her instantly. She had taken a seat in front of a tree to Scylla’s right and was cradling her own steaming cup. Scylla noticed she was wearing her hoody, and deliberately refused to think about that too. “Thanks for the coffee.” It came out almost as a question, Scylla’s uncertainty at what to say bleeding into her tone, but Raelle just smiled at her and made a small cheers motion with her cup. The sun was nearly up now and it’s golden light was catching Raelle’s hair, as it formed shafts through the trees. Raelle had her signature braids on one side and, even though they were loosened and messy from overnight, Scylla thought she looked positively charming. Scylla knew she should be distancing herself, this was exactly where she was not meant to be, it was dangerous for both of them.

Raelle was trying to keep calm, and not just bombard Scylla with all the questions that had been rattling around her head through the night. It had only been a couple of hours ago, while sitting idly watching Scylla sleep, she remembered Scylla had tried to attack Alder and that was why Raelle was out there to start with. There were sure to be serious repercussions and Raelle also realised, her Mom would probably have a large part in deciding what they would be, and she had no idea now if that was a good or a bad thing for Scylla. Raelle concentrated on her coffee and enjoying the peace of the surroundings as much as possible, but it wasn’t long before she felt fidgety again. It was clear Scylla wasn’t going to initiate conversation and Raelle couldn’t deal with the idea of spending all this time together, and only having more questions at the end of it. She tried to balance it out with not wanting to drive Scylla away, pick something fairly innocuous to start, but Raelle’s mouth was always a bit quicker than her brain and she was blurting out what she actually wanted to know before she even properly registered it, “What happened to your arm?”

Scylla felt any peace she had shatter at the question, the air left her lungs in a rush and her heart gave several strong beats, before settling back towards it’s normal level. She had expected questions, she had met Raelle, after all, but as always seemed to be the way, she wasn’t expecting it at that moment and it caught her completely off guard. Scylla saw the cringe Raelle gave after she said it, indicating she hadn’t meant it to upset Scylla, but she couldn’t stop the deadpan response of “Fire.”

Scylla watched Raelle raise her eyebrows and pursed her lips a little, as she muttered “Fair enough.” While turning to look away. Scylla hated herself for feeling bad, she had no reason to, she didn’t owe Raelle anything and even if she did, asking her like that was a shitty move, regardless of the intention behind it. Scylla realised she was grinding her teeth, tension spreading over her like oil on water, and she tried to subtly shake it out of her limbs. She sighed and glanced over to Raelle, who was now just frowning into her coffee cup, looking adorably forlorn. Well, Scylla rationalised, if anything could get rid of Raelle, it was probably this. Of course Scylla would have to share her greatest shame to try to get the woman she loved to leave her, again, obviously that was how her life would go. 

Scylla scoffed to herself, and Raelle looked questioning towards her, Scylla didn’t look at her yet, just took a long swig of her coffee and set it down before grabbing her jar, filling it back up to the brim and taking another long swig, before she flipped the jars lid closed. Next, she dug into a hidden pocket in her jacket and pulled out a battered packet of cigarettes, her ever present Zippo appeared from her trousers and she tapped out one of the white sticks, then she brought the two together in front of her face, in clearly practised moves.

Raelle spoke up again, raising one of her eyebrows “Any vices you don’t have?”

Scylla merely shrugged “Got to have a hobby,” She continued her sipping and smoking until half of each was gone and then took several deep breaths, as she prepared to share one of the worst nights of her life. She glanced at Raelle one last time and started speaking “It was a group of God faring folk, they wanted to burn a demon and they came across me. Didn’t work out so well for them in the end.”

Scylla still didn’t look at Raelle, but she could hear the horror in her voice, as she asked “They tried to burn you?”

Scylla took another drag of her cigarette and she nodded, as she said “Brand, and burn. Wouldn’t want to forget that bit.” Scylla knew very well, she never would.

“Who was it?”

Scylla sighed again, she really wasn’t going to get out of this without digging through the lot. She resolved that fine, Raelle could have the gory details if she wanted “I mentioned the Moonshine guys the other night, right?”

Raelle nodded when Scylla briefly glanced her way, so she continued “Well, they were alright guys, but their friends, not so much. There was one that was a proper creep, I caught him watching me one day, but I didn’t know he’d seen my mark. He and his church buddies came back that night and woke me up with a punch to the throat. Bundled me into the back of their truck, took me off to church and showed me off as Satan spawn.” Scylla was trying to keep speaking in a matter of fact way, just the outline of what happened, enough scare Raelle off. No need for Scylla to expose herself too much, she was supposed to be the villain in this story, and she knew she was. “Some of them took me out back, to get me branded and all ready for the burning, but I escaped and repaid them the favour, tenfold.”

Raelle was looking confused, and asked “So you killed the guys?” Raelle thought about how weird a question that was, to casually enquire if your morning coffee buddy happened to have murdered some people, even if that must count as self defence.

“I killed them all.” Was Scylla’s response, so, Raelle supposed, not self defence then. Scylla continued “They were all so busy singing and full of rapture, they didn’t notice they were trapped until it was too late.”

Raelle didn’t need to know how ravenous the congregation had been, elated at the idea of burning her alive. How justified the Reverend looked as he pushed the red hot bar into her back again and again. How she was looking for car keys and one of them must have been the caretaker or something, cos he had all the keys. How Scylla just wanted to get away, but as she was staggering across the car park, the sound of their celebrating had snapped something inside her, and changed the course of her life fundamentally. 

That was the night Scylla had sentenced herself to this miserable existence, it was what Alder had dug her claws into last night, Scylla knew her parents would hate her for what she had done. It was the only reason she was here at all and didn’t just end it in the days and weeks following that night, after the anger faded but the shame and pain remained and embedded itself into her. As she sat alone in the forest, she wished for everything to end, but she couldn’t bring herself meet her parents again, in whatever way that would be. In an instant, she had thrown away all their teachings and turned against everything they thought was right and important, so even though Scylla didn’t really even know what she actually thought happened after death, seeing her parents disappointment was too great a risk. 

Scylla had thought she would die the day she buried her parents. She had waited a long time after the soldiers left, crouched in the garage, in the dark. She was so scared to move, in case there was still someone waiting, and because she knew what she would see when she did. Eventually she had to do something, so she ventured out cautiously and made it three steps into the other room, before she collapsed crying at what she found. It wasn’t until the next morning that she managed to get herself together enough to start doing what she knew she must. Her parents had to be buried, you don’t burn witches and she couldn’t bear the idea of some strangers finding them and slinging them into the back of the van, destined for somewhere she would never find them again. So she found a shovel, mocked up a crude sled and set to work. It was exhausting, it took Scylla at least an hour to find a spot, a clearing far enough away from the property it should remain undisturbed, and multiple trips over several more hours to move her precious cargo. It was so cold, the ground had frozen and she had to build a fire to melt it before she could even start digging, the contrast of the heat and extreme cold making her sweat and then freezing that sweat, in an endless uncomfortable cycle. Her eyes burned from smoke and tears, while her muscles started to shake with exhaustion and she had to throw all of herself into each strike of the shovel. 

It took her well into the night and when Scylla finished, she collapsed against a nearby tree. She pulled out her Dad’s special Whiskey and started drinking, looking over her parents freshly dug graves. Scylla had been sure she would freeze that night, as she felt her consciousness drifting and made no effort to move, but she hadn’t, she had woken up the next morning, stiff as a board but still breathing. It was one of the most beautiful mornings she had ever seen, it had snowed at some point after Scylla had passed out and her parents graves were now completely covered, hiding their fresh appearance and making it seem like they belonged there now. A family of deer were picking their way through the forest on the opposite side of the glade and Scylla gave them a gentle, little wave as they passed, seemingly unperturbed by her presence.

So Scylla didn’t die, and as she stood later that morning watching her most recent home burn to the ground, taking the scene of her parents death with it, she thought that maybe she wasn’t supposed to, maybe she did have some sort of fate. It wasn’t until she stood watching the church burn, that she realised it had just been another cruel joke.

Raelle must have had some idea of what Scylla was going to say, but Scylla supposed it would probably still be pretty shocking to hear, she had never told anyone before, so she wasn’t sure what reaction to expect. Raelle recovered herself a little after a couple of minutes and surprised Scylla by asking “And you didn’t know a fixer?”

Scylla felt a spike of anger at the stupidity of the question, before she reminded herself that Raelle had no reason to know it was dumb, and it was probably a reasonable question, for a normal person anyway. So she answered and tried to keep her voice level “I didn’t know anyone.”

Raelle just nodded her head and took a swig of her coffee, she didn’t know what she was feeling, didn’t know how to even start processing what she had just been told. She felt like she had been punched, her nerves were frayed and she wished her day was clear, so she could steal another swig of Scylla’s Moonshine. It wasn’t an option though, Abigail might be being helpful at the moment but Raelle had no doubt that attitude would start to shift quickly if Raelle started messing with the Unit rankings. So Raelle settled for the next best thing and indicated towards the cigarette nearly burnt down between Scylla’s fingers “Can I bum a smoke?” 

Scylla hesitated a moment, regarding Raelle warily, while she took her last few puff and flicked the butt into the fire. She pulled out the packet again and offered it to Raelle, after pulling out another for herself. As she held the lighter's flame towards Raelle, she narrowed her eyes and said “If I get another lecture from Anacostia about leading you astray, I will not be impressed.”

Raelle took a drag to light the cigarette, and another, before she responded “Hey, I can be sneaky. I get away with stuff.”

Scylla snorted, and looked at Raelle incredulously, replying “No, you really don’t. Your way too reactionary for that.”

“I prefer passionate.” Raelle answered, with one of her half smiles.

“I bet you do.” Scylla shot back, chuckling softly at Raelle literally puffing her chest in mock indignation. And just like that it was almost normal, almost a nice morning, but that wasn’t Scylla’s life and she sighed, as she thought about returning to the base. Raelle looked at her questioningly again as she took her final drag, flicked the butt into the fire and stood, ignoring the vertigo like feeling that came with it. “We should get back.” She stated, already moving and grabbing items to pack away.

Raelle sighed, finished her own cigarette and gulped her remaining coffee before standing and stretching out her arms and legs “Yeah, I guess so.” Raelle wanted to say so much more, but she still had no idea exactly what, so she took her cup and rinsed it out, then started to help close down the camp.


End file.
